Boca Juniors striker Martin Palermo argued that Lionel Messi could never carry Argentina in the way Diego Maradona did in 1986 and 1990, before adding that he was upset by Messi's recent praise of interim Albiceleste coach Sergio Batista.
Palermo spent two months with 'La Pulga' as part of Maradona's World Cup squad, which went out at the quarter-final stage, and got to know each other very well over that period. And Palermo, while insisting that Messi is the best player in the world, believes that he does not have the strength of character that 'El Diego' possessed to drive Argentina to two successive World Cup finals.
"Messi is not Maradona. For me Messi does not have Maradona's mentality. He is not equipped to carry the team on his shoulders, or to assume the role of conductor, and he is not going to be because he is used to the Barcelona system," Palermo stated earlier today in a frank interview with El Show de Futbol.
"Lio has been raised in a different way, he has lived through distinct experiences. He has lived since the age of 12 in Barcelona, do you know what Diego had to live through,” the striker added, referring to his Boca idol's upbringing in a notorious Buenos Aires shanty town.
Palermo also admitted that the playmaker's comments after the Ireland game, when he claimed he felt as comfortable in Batista's Albiceleste team as in Barcelona, hurt him and were designed as a barb against his former Seleccion coach.
"In truth, we are trying not to pay him too much attention. With Messi we had some very strong moments. Diego had a very special bond with him, I believe that it hurts more from a human side than a football one. Diego treated him like a son.”
And moving from one number 10 to another, Palermo finished by talking about Boca team-mate Juan Roman Riquelme - with whom Palermo has a chilly relationship, to the point where it is said the pair hardly exchange a word outside of football matters.
"Roman is a player with great experience, who knows what it means to play here and who with just one action can leave you one-on-one with the goalkeeper, which is what we need,” the 36-year-old stated, also revealing that the pair had said hello following Riquelme renewing his contract with the club.
